An email scam is targeting Black Lives Matter supporters—here’s what you need to know
Yahoo Life is committed to finding you the best products at the best prices. The product written about here is offered in affiliation with Yahoo Life's parent company, Verizon Media.
In times of great social importance, it’s common for predators to strike. True to form, cyber criminals have developed a new scam this summer, and they’re targeting Americans who are supporting the Black Lives Matter movement.
The scam first hit our radar thanks to Adam Levin, cyber security expert and founder of Cyberscout. He told Yahoo Life that the Zurich-based cyber security group Abuse.ch. has identified a phishing campaign in which potential victims are spammed with what they think are Black Lives Matter-related emails.
Head ups ?? Threat actors are currently abusing the #BlackLivesMattters campaign to distribute malware ??
Sender:
Country authority <[email protected]>
Subject:
Leave a review confidentially about Black Lives Matter
DOC:https://t.co/nkwrioyeex
Payload unknown (yet) pic.twitter.com/M83ih3HmW0— abuse.ch (@abuse_ch) June 10, 2020
“Emails with the subject line ‘Vote anonymous about ‘Black Lives Matter’’ have been sending a variant of TrickBot, a Trojan-style program designed to steal credentials and data from computers running Windows,” Levin said.
How dangerous is TrickBot?
TrickBot is technically malware, a program comprised of malicious code that completely hijacks your computer, stealing your identity and all of your personal information, from bank account passwords to social security numbers. Trojan-style programs get their name from Greek mythology, as they’re disguised to look like the real thing much like the storied Trojan horse. All you have to do is unknowingly click a malicious link—in this case, straight from a bogus email or even a text message—and malware takes over.
Threat actors rely on social media, too, where users unknowingly perpetuate phishing scams, according to Levin. In this case, someone “may repost something, not realizing that there could be malicious code in the image,” said Levin. “They might inadvertently be sharing a malware link.” And someone who cares about the topic in question might be more inclined to click on the toxic link if it’s posted by a friend.
This particular TrickBot scam may be new, but malware scams are always rampant on the internet. The statistics are staggering: by 2020, the global cost of malware attacks is expected to hit $6 trillion—yes, trillion—according to the cyber experts at Cybersecurity Ventures. More than 40 million consumer-targeted malware programs were detected in 2019, says security software giant MalwareBytes.
So what can you do to avoid having your information compromised in a malware attack?
MalwareBytes is actually one of the most powerful tools available to you. It’s a leading anti-virus and anti-malware software product that specializes in staying ahead of the curve and thwarting the newest threats before you even know they exist.
MalwareBytes Premium is just $4.99 a month for an account you can register to three devices, with a 30-day free trail.
Think about MalwareBytes Premium as smart-home software. It’s a program that’s faster and more intelligent than any single human could be, because it uses artificial intelligence in the form of features like anomaly detection, behavior matching, and application crushing—all sophisticated terms for the kind of intelligence it takes to see scams coming from miles away. That applies to all devices and all platforms: Windows, Mac, and Android.
If you’ve already been the victim of a malware attack, MalwareBytes Premium can clean up the damage, too—it’s earned itself a “flawless” clean-up score from the prestigious AV-TEST.org.
Arm yourself and protect your whole family from the devastation of a malware attack before the worst-case scenario happens. You have far bigger fish to fry than to live in a state of worry—and MalwareBytes will give you ultimate peace of mind.
Shop it: MalwareBytes Premium, $4.99 per month after a 30-day free trail, subscriptions.yahoo.com
Read more from Yahoo Life:
Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest for nonstop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day
Want daily pop culture news delivered to your inbox? Sign up here for Yahoo Entertainment & Lifestyle's newsletter.
